Florida's Bike Paths to Get $25M AnnuallyOrlando Sentinel (FL)July 30--Gov. Rick Scott was in a cutting mood after the state Legislature passed a $78 billion budget earlier this year, but one $25 million line item escaped his veto. Senate President Andy Gardiner inserted a change into how vehicle-registration fees are spent and siphoned off $25 million annually for what he called the Sun Trail program, or in plain speak, bike paths. It's not a lot of ...

07/29/2015

Approve All Aboard Florida's Bonds, Adviser Tells Finance CorporationTreasure Coast Newspapers (Stuart, FL)July 29--All Aboard Florida should be approved to sell $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds, a financial adviser has told the Florida Development Finance Corp. Documents released Tuesday lay out nearly every aspect of the proposed loan agreement between the finance corporation and All Aboard Florida. The detailed, signature-ready documents seem to pave the way for the passenger-rail company to ...

07/28/2015

Miami-Dade Could Launch Western Rail Line for $102MMiami Herald (FL)July 28--Miami-Dade County could launch rail service to the western suburbs for about $102 million, a relatively low price that relies on local government using an existing cargo line that runs along the Dolphin Expressway. A new consultant's analysis offers the updated price estimates for an initiative spearheaded by Esteban "Steve" Bovo, the Miami-Dade commissioner who leads the county's ...

07/28/2015

Developer Makes Plans to Build Hotel in Downtown RaleighNews & Observer (Raleigh, NC)July 28--RALEIGH -- A Morrisville hotel developer has acquired the Enterprise Rent-A-Car site directly north of the downtown Raleigh Convention Center. Winwood Hospitality Group paid $4.05 million for the .57-acre site, according to property records. The land fronts McDowell Street and is across Cabarrus Street from the convention center. Winwood plans to extend Enterprise's lease for another ...

07/28/2015

NCDOT Names Ex-Durham Mayor to Lead Agency After Secretary ResignsHerald-Sun (Durham, NC)July 28--DURHAM -- Former Durham mayor Nick Tennyson has been named acting secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation following the Tuesday resignation of Secretary Tony Tata. Tennyson, chief deputy secretary under Tata, served as the mayor here from 1997-2001. He joined NCDOT in April of 2013. Tata's resignation came after criticism for going on a book tour before an impending ...

07/28/2015

Developer Scales Back Plans for Proposed I-Drive Hotel in OrlandoOrlando Sentinel (FL)July 28--Developers of a new hotel planned for International Drive have revamped their construction plans, including reducing the number of rooms and parking spaces. The iSquare Mall + Hotel will have two hotels totaling 600 rooms, said Abdul Mathin, chairman of developer BlackMINE Group. The original proposal, which called for 749 rooms on the 5.6-acre site, had received unanimous approval ...

07/27/2015

Tri-Rail Closing In on Funds for Miami Rail ConnectionMiami Herald (FL)July 27--A push to secure $70 million in public funds to connect Tri-Rail commuter trains from Palm Beach County to downtown Miami is closer than ever after Miami commissioners voted Monday to commit another $17.5 million toward the efforts. Commissioners, sitting as the board of the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, agreed to release the funds in the form of tax ...

07/27/2015

Proposed 58-Story Billboard Tower Becoming Miami's Latest Political FootballMiami Herald (FL)July 27--Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez says a twisting 58-story billboard tower proposed in the city of Miami is illegal under the county's code of laws, and it looks like the city will give his administration every chance to enforce that position. Last week, Miami commissioners voted to repeal legislation enabling "media towers," such as the project proposed by developer Michael Simkins in ...

07/27/2015

Developer Plans to Build 250 Apartments in Downtown RaleighNews & Observer (Raleigh, NC)July 27--RALEIGH -- A Chicago-based apartment developer has filed plans to build a 250-unit apartment complex on the site of the former Greyhound bus terminal in downtown Raleigh. Banner Apartments, which is also building The Lincoln Apartments just east of downtown, plans to offer a mix of 1- and 2-story apartments on the 1.79-acre site, according to plans filed with the city. The property is ...

07/27/2015

Kobi Karp Making Waves in Miami's Evolving Design SceneMiami Herald (FL)July 27--Kobi Karp moved to Miami in the late 1980s to work as an architect because of its prime location -- near the Caribbean, that is. "It was Miami Vice and Scarface days; there was really no work being done here," said Karp, 52, who started out with British firm Lane Pettigrew Wood Karp on Lincoln Road. What a difference two decades makes. These days, the more than 80 employees who make ...

07/27/2015

Architectural Firm Sues City of Columbia, S.C., Over Long-Running Pay DisputeState (Columbia, SC)July 27--COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A civil trial set to open Monday at the Richland County courthouse might well give the public a glimpse of how money, politics and Columbia City Council decisions mix. Current and past Columbia city officials under subpoena to possibly testify include current Mayor Steve Benjamin, former Mayor Bob Coble and former city manager Steve Gantt. The trial is the latest act ...

07/25/2015

All Aboard Florida Considers Residential, Retail, Office Development in Broward CountyPalm Beach Post (FL)July 25--FORT LAUDERDALE -- As All Aboard Florida pushes ahead with construction on its Fort Lauderdale station, the private rail company is working with Broward County officials in hopes of transforming the area around the railroad tracks into a busy transportation hub mixed with housing, offices, shops and eateries. All Aboard Florida plans to build a 60,000-square-foot station just north of ...

07/22/2015

Bahamas Judge: Megaproject Developer's U.S. Bankruptcy Won't Be RecognizedAssociated PressKINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A judge in the Bahamas ruled Wednesday that a U.S. bankruptcy filing by the developer of an unfinished $2.5 billion megaresort in Nassau will not be recognized in the Caribbean archipelago. The islands' attorney general strongly objected to the Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, arguing that having a U.S. court decide major economic matters in the ...

07/21/2015

Developer Plans 52-Story Tower at Former Trump Site in TampaTampa Tribune (FL)July 21--TAMPA -- The city's tallest skyscraper would rise on the former site of the ill-fated Trump Tower along the Hillsborough River under plans filed this week with the city. Feldman Equities, a St. Petersburg-based developer headed by Larry Feldman, filed plans for a 52-story, mixed-use building at Ashley Drive and Brorein Street. Ten years ago, Donald Trump, the New York real estate ...

07/19/2015

SRS Coal Ash Cleanup Doesn't Include Pollution BarrierState (Columbia, SC)July 19--AIKEN, S.C. -- Every time a dump truck tilts its bed skyward and coal ash slides to the ground at the Savannah River Site, it adds to the height of a government landfill intended to seal off toxins that have sickened wildlife and poisoned water. But the effort to isolate coal waste from the environment at SRS is missing a key component that power companies are using to protect ...

07/18/2015

Construction Worker Critically Injured on College Campus in GeorgiaBrunswick News (GA)July 18--A construction worker building an elevator shaft for the new student housing buildings on the campus of College of Coastal Georgia was critically injured Friday afternoon. According to Mike Hampton, chief operating officer of Choate Construction Co., Jose Luis Hernandez, a worker with S & W Masonry in Forest Park, fell about 20 feet when he slipped between the scaffolding floor he was ...

07/18/2015

David Beckham Picks Soccer Stadium Site Next to Marlins ParkMiami Herald (FL)July 18--David Beckham and his investors plan to start negotiations with Miami to build a soccer stadium on city land next to Marlins Park, rejecting past concerns about a site they now see as having the potential to be a thriving entertainment district. The University of Miami is not part of the plan, though Beckham partner Marcelo Claure said talks with the college continue to build a big ...

07/17/2015

Company Proposes 556-ft Observation Tower for Homestead, Fla.Miami Herald (FL)July 17--During its Wednesday night meeting, the Homestead City Council approved a nonbinding agreement to lease land to a company looking to build and operate an observation tower in the city's downtown. The main item City officials agreed to sign a letter of intent from Leisure and Recreation Concepts, a Texas corporation, to develop, manage and operate a 556-foot tower attraction in ...

07/16/2015

Related Plans to Add 400 Apartments, Retail to CityPlace in West PalmPalm Beach Post (FL)July 16--The Related Cos., the national real estate company behind downtown West Palm Beach's renaissance, will continue to invest money in the city by adding to its signature project, CityPlace, with more residences, shops and restaurants. "When people ask the question: 'What in the world is Related, with everything we're doing all over the world, why do we continue to spend all this time to ...

07/14/2015

Baha Mar Bankruptcy Delays Debut of $100M Seawater-Sourced Cooling SystemIntelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era (PA)July 14--"The life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster of elation and disappointments," Jeremy Feakins says. As chairman and CEO of Ocean Thermal Energy Corp., the Lancaster-based renewable energy company, Feakins speaks from experience. There's elation in bringing to market what Ocean Thermal calls a "global game-changing technology." Hydrothermal power plants and air conditioning systems ...

07/14/2015

Miami-Dade OKs Special Tax District for $1.7B Worldcenter DevelopmentMiami Herald (FL)July 14--The Miami Worldcenter retail and residential complex won approval Tuesday for a special taxing district in the city's Overtown neighborhood, fending off a fierce challenge by community and labor organizers. At issue was a taxing mechanism designed to let developers fund about $72 million in infrastructure improvements through a special assessment charged on their properties' tax ...

07/14/2015

Walbridge Aldinger to Lead $16M Renovation of Tampa's 100-Year-Old City HallTampa Tribune (FL)July 14--TAMPA -- In the year of its 100th birthday, Old City Hall is getting a little love. The city is moving ahead with $16 million in major renovation work on the historic structure, once the tallest building in the city. Over the next two years, renovation will begin on the building exterior, including brickwork, granite and ornate terracotta balustrades and cornices. Council on Thursday ...

07/14/2015

'Crowdfunded' Townhouses Headed for Charlotte's SouthPark AreaCharlotte Observer (NC)July 14--SouthPark will soon see a new, upscale townhouse development financed in part by an unusual source of equity: Crowdfunding. To help pay for the project, the developer has launched a $1.7 million offering, allowing accredited investors to invest in the townhouses. An accredited investor is defined as someone with $200,000 or more of annual income or a net worth of more than $1 million. ...

07/13/2015

Amazon Agrees to Buy Power From Planned 200MW Wind Farm in N.C.Associated PressRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A division of Amazon is buying the renewable energy generated by the South's first big wind-power project. Seattle-based Amazon Web Services said Monday it has agreed to buy the electricity generated by the 200-megawatt operation to be built near Elizabeth City in rural eastern North Carolina. A groundbreaking for the project being built by Iberdrola Renewables is ...

07/13/2015

Asheville, N.C., on Cusp of Major Development BoomCharlotte Observer (NC)July 13--Charlotte isn't the only North Carolina metro on the cusp of a major development boom. According to a story this weekend from the Citizen-Times, Asheville is slated to see a total commercial development investment of over $1 billion over the next five years. Development is underway in a wide range of industries, from hotels to retail stores. Some major projects include a $175 million ...